CHARLOTTE MASON methods! They work well for us!

Way back when... when I first explored the different methods of homeschooling, I fell in love with Charlotte Mason's theory! I'm not sure what happened? I loved it...but I never followed through very well.



Except with nature studies and birdwatching... Anna Comstock's Nature Guide is like an old friend in our home. One we take for granted way too often.

And, we thoroughly enjoyed Five in a Row... we have a few more books to wrap up before we bid our final farewell.

We've used living books for history and read-alouds..and we've done a few major artist studies.

I look at all the workbooks and mass-produced curriculum, that I've picked up along the way...thinking "this will be just the ticket to launch TOMMIE into the kid-prodigy he is"... (sarcastic slant!). It never happened.

Truth is, he's not a good speller at all. And, as I've told you in the past... those black-lined workbook pages or colored for that matter....zap every ounce of passion for learning out of him that he has! This is not how I intended our homeschool journey to be. When he watches me pull Spelling Power out... he slithers down in his chair and disappears under the kitchen table. don't laugh.. it's true.



I thought there should be a better way. A more efficient use of our time. A plan that would roll things together more effectively, efficiently and mostly use the time we have to make better memories, while subtly reinforcing different subjects.

That's when I remembered Charlotte Mason's dictation. That's when I remembered attending the Charlotte Mason conference and feverishly taking notes on pulling spelling words and narration/reading comprehension from the classics or living books.

For the past week..I've implemented this into our homeschool. And, it's working out beautifully! Our pastor talked about Martin Luther a couple of weeks ago.. I found the story to be amazing! While scanning the living books at our local library..I found a beautiful book to use! One that I can understand! smile-wink-nod!

Believe me when I tell you, I'm not bragging. My intent is just to share a success story and how to make your homeschooling a little richer. A tongue in cheek moment, where you silently say to yourself, "dang, this does work!".... or "why didn't I do this sooner?"

By switching to the Charlotte Mason method, in just one week, Tommie has learned and mastered 49 yes forty-nine new spelling words! And, in one day he learned 14 Greek words (with a cheesy homemade file folder game I made...so bad I couldn't bare to take a snap of it!). With those 49 spelling words (which I use like Spelling Power's ideas), I've had him make them plural, divide them, write them in sentences, alphabetize them and add prefixes and suffixes. I've easily woven in applied math and geography, as well. And, the whole dictation thing is phenominal! His handwriting has improved! exhale!

If you use the CM method, I'd love to hear about your success stories... please share in my comments!

P.S. We will continue with Horizons Math 5 (a mass-produced curriculum), since it is working out swell for us.